The Final Rose
by lizandletdie
Summary: On the advice of the Blue Fairy, Baelfire and his father have spent the last three hundred years searching for True Loves Kiss - the only magic powerful enough to break the Dark Curse. So far, none of the hundreds of maids who have been in the castle have worked out, but then ogres attack the kingdom of Avonlea and the princess sends for help.
1. Chapter 1

"Reul Ghorm?" Baelfire called into the darkness. "Are you there? If you can help me, please make yourself known to me."

Bae closed his eyes and wished as hard as he could. This was his last hope to save his papa from the curse that afflicted him, it just _had_ to work. Soon, he felt the strange shimmery feeling that he'd learned meant _magic_ and when he opened his eyes he saw a tiny woman with wings surrounded by a blue light. He could feel the power radiating off of her, and he felt strangely calm.

"Can you help me?" he asked her timidly.  
"I can help," she replied kindly, hovering in front of him.  
"How do I know I can trust you?" he asked.

"Because there's good magic and dark magic," she replied. "And I'm on the right side."  
"You're a fairy," he said, just to reassure himself that this was the right choice. This could save his papa.  
"And you are not untouched by magic, are you, child?" she asked. "There's something dark in your life."  
"My father," he admitted. "He's the Dark One."

" _I_ can't make him the man he was before," she said sadly. "There's only one thing that can possibly defeat the darkness that's inside him."

"I'll do anything," he replied. "I just want my father back."

"Only a kiss borne of true love can break the Dark Curse," she said.

"True love?" he said. "What do you mean?"

"A love that doesn't demand change," she said. "A love that accepts him for who he is. It's his only hope."

"But how do I find his true love?" Bae asked. His mother was dead, and even in his memories he didn't think his mother would have accepted this.

"There are many potential true loves for everybody, even the Dark One," the fairy replied. "But it's up to your father to accept it or not. Unless he's willing to be loved, there is no hope."

 _Over three hundred years later…_

Lady Belle of Avonlea was trying to be brave. The ogres had been encroaching further beyond their borders daily and closer to the capitol. There was only one option left to them, and it was nerve wracking. She stood in the throne room with her father and his advisors waiting for the arrival of the Dark One and hoping that he could save them all.

Her father couldn't even speak. He hadn't wanted to go along with it to begin with, but there had been no other choice. It was practically a rite of passage for young ladies in desperate circumstances to make a deal with him, and Belle couldn't think of any situation more desperate than this one.

"It will be alright, Papa," she said. "He'll help us – he has to."

"I'm not sure what he has to do, Belle," her father replied. "And I still don't like the idea of you being alone with him."

She could point out that he'd never kept one of the young ladies he dealt with for more than two months as far as anyone could remember or that they were always returned with no sign of injury or abuse. True, a few had lost their memories of the prior few days but on examination there were no signs he'd taken any sort of advantage. Mostly they had spoken of a large castle, cleaning, and a boy of varying ages. Nobody knew where the boys came from, but he always had a new one once the last one got too old. There were so many rumors and theories, but Belle didn't put much stock in those and anyway, she would surely learn the truth soon enough.

A knock sounded at the door, startling her out of her idle musings. It seemed he had taken an interest in their offer after all.

"It's him," she said. "It has to be him."  
"How could he get past the walls?" her father said to no one in particular. "Open it."

Two of her father's knights went to the door and Belle felt her heart in her throat as the door swung open to reveal… nothing. He hadn't come. They were doomed.  
"Well, that was a bit of a letdown."

The voice came from behind, and Belle spun to face the Dark One. He was lounging in her father's throne with a grin on his face. She'd never seen anything quite like him before. He was dressed in fine clothes of leather and silk and his skin was covered in strange golden scales. He was smaller than she had imagined, but there was a sense of power about him that made him seem larger than life. She should probably be afraid, but instead she simply felt a curiosity about him.

"You sent me a message," the Dark One said in a high trilling voice. "Something about, um, 'Help, help! We're dying! Can you save us?' Now, the answer is – yes, I can. Yes, I can protect your little town. For a price."

"You have our offer," her father said, glancing towards Belle. It was her cue.

"They say you trade for maidens," she said to the sorcerer as bravely as she could. "And I'm willing to offer my life for my people."

"Don't be so dramatic, dearie," he said as he lept to his feet and approached her. "I have no intentions of killing you."

He began slowly circling her and she turned her head to watch him as he examined her.

"A little on the short side, isn't she?" he trilled to no one in particular as he dropped into an exaggerated bow in front of her, taking her hand. "And I doubt she's ever done a day of work in her life."

She wasn't sure what to make of that. Of course she hadn't, she was a lady. What had he been expecting?

"That's enough," her father said quickly, pulling her bodily away from the Dark One. "This was a mistake."

"Papa," Belle protested. She didn't want to say it in front of the stranger, but this was their only option. No matter what, they needed him to agree to a deal. "This is my choice."

"You know," the sorcerer said. "She's right."

Belle turned back to face the stranger in front of her..

"I'll go with you," she said. "Forever. That's the term, isn't it? Forever?"

"Indeed," he replied solemnly. "And in return?"

"In return, I want my people saved from the ogres," she said. "My friends, my family, all of them."

"Alright," he said. "They'll all be safe."

"I have your word?"

"Of course," he replied with a gentle nod of his head.

"Then we have a deal," she said.

Belle felt like the breath had left her body. The entire room was a cacophony of noise – sounds of relief and fear, her father crying out for her to take it back and stay. Gaston was the only other person in the room who remained silent. She could feel his eyes boring into her. He hadn't been any more happy with this idea than her father had, but she refused to let them talk her out of it. There were plenty of other women who could go with the Dark One, after all, not just the princess. She hadn't let them dissuade her, though. She was the lady of this land, and if it was anyone's responsibility to perform this duty it was hers.

She would have liked to comfort her father with the truth that she would be home soon and would be safe and that there were no stories of him ever causing harm to any of the girls who stayed with him, but the sorcerer took her hand again, drawing her forward until he could fit one clawed hand to the small of her back and lead her from the throne room.

Rumplestiltskin was in high spirits after he deposited the girl safely in her room. At least this one hadn't cried too much when he'd locked her in, he was sure there must be flooding someplace in the castle from the last girl he'd brought (but really, what _had_ he expected from a girl who would trade for a night at a ball? Silly thing). Bae would be happy, at least. He was always happy when there was a new girl, always hopeful. The boy had held out hope that someone could come to truly love his father, in spite of all possible evidence to the contrary.

He sighed and sat before his spinning wheel, running a hand over the smooth wood. He'd brought the wheel with him when he and Bae came to this castle a hundred and fifty or so years previously, and it had always felt strangely out of place in the Great Hall of this fine castle but paradoxically it made the place feel more like home.

"Who did you bring this time?" Baelfire's voice came from the door behind Rumplestiltskin.

The Dark One turned to see his son as he entered the hall. The boy was younger now than he had been when his father took on the curse, but with eyes far too old to be in the face of a six year old. He would grow again and Rumplestiltskin would get to watch his son grow up into a man before casting the spell to return him once again to childhood.

"This one is a princess," Rumplestiltskin said. "I saved her land from ogres."

He couldn't help but hope Bae would be pleased or impressed, but it had been a long time since his son had felt much of anything about the magic that kept him alive and kept them in a steady stream of new maids for several hundred years.

"What do you think of her?" Bae asked. In the first hundred years or so, every new girl was a cause for excitement. Now, though, there was barely any interest in his voice.

"She's fine looking, I suppose," he replied with a shrug, although the princess was startlingly pretty. "Talks too much, though."

"Well maybe I'll like her," Baelfire said. "It gets boring being up here by myself."

Rumplestiltskin felt himself flinch at that. Bae always did get on better with the various maids than his father did, to both of their chagrins. Rumplestiltskin was supposed to be finding his true love, but he'd only ever gotten along with one of the women in three hundred years, and in spite of that her kisses hadn't broken the curse. He was beginning to think nothing ever would.

"You probably will," Rumplestiltskin said to his son. "She seems nice."

 _Nicer than Cora, anyway._ Bae never had taken to Cora no matter how much his father had, but he'd gotten on fine with all the others. Even the wolf-girl who had overturned a whole pot of potatoes on Rumplestiltskin after he'd made a particularly off-color joke. She'd been sent off that evening with an amulet to give her control of her curse and her red cloak draped over her shoulders.

"I'm not going to do this forever, Papa," Bae said, cutting into his father's thoughts. "I want to live a real life soon."

"This is a real life," Rumplestiltskin said on reflex. This wasn't the first time Baelfire had voiced his discontent with their situation and each time sent a stab of ice cold fear through his father's gut. He couldn't go on without Baelfire, and the idea of watching his son grow old and die without him was beyond all bearing.

"No it's not," Bae replied. "I want to grow up and have a family of my own. I want to get old, Papa. I want friends. I think this is my last time growing up."

Rumplestiltskin froze and clenched his hands at his sides. Bae had hinted at this before, but he'd never come out and said it, never before said he would refuse to let his father return him to childhood. What would Rumplestiltskin do if this really was the last time his son would age?

"If that's what you wish," he said at last, although his voice didn't even sound like it belonged to him. Bae was all he had left.

"It is," Bae said. "I don't want to do this again."

Rumplestiltskin turned back to the wheel and set to spinning hurriedly, and after awhile he heard the door open as his son left, presumably to go introduce himself to their guest. There was still a chance that Baelfire would change his mind, and it wasn't the first time that Bae had implied he was unhappy with their arrangement. But Bae had never said that he _wouldn't_ go through with another childhood before.

This was a distressing turn of events, and Rumplestiltskin was half a basket of wool into puzzling it out when he heard the door open behind him. He didn't bother to turn, assuming it must be his son come back for something. It wasn't until the footsteps grew closer and he heard the distinctive swishing of petticoats that he remembered the princess. Bae must have let her out of her room, apparently the boy was serious about his ultimatum.

Rumplestiltskin's fingers were itching at the idea of talking to her. He never knew what to say to these girls when they first came to stay. He'd never been good at talking to women, and that had been when he had been a normal man trying to court a shopkeeper's fourth daughter not the Dark One attempting to make the sole princess of a small merchant kingdom fall in love with him and break a curse.

The petticoat sound stopped and he knew he was going to have to speak to her. He slowed the wheel and gathered whatever courage he possessed before turning to face the girl. She was still wearing her same golden gown from before. She must not have noticed the closet full of clothes in her room yet, or else none of them had struck her fancy though he didn't see how that was possible. It contained an obscene amount of clothing from everywhere from Agrabah to Arendelle all of which was enchanted so it would always fit the wearer. If there wasn't _something_ she liked in the lot, she wasn't trying.

"Did you need something?" he asked her finally, trying to slip the mask of the imp back over his raw nerves. "Come to beg to return home already?"

"I'm here to be a maid, aren't I?" she replied. "I mean, that's what you wanted?"

He didn't really want anything. He wanted his son to stay, and his son wanted this to work and so he'd made the deal.

"Yes of course," he said flippantly. "You can't expect magic to do everything around here, can you?"

She looked at him curiously before nodding and looking around the room with a strangely intense interest. He watched her as she took in his knicknacks – he was strangely proud of the collection, after all, it had taken him centuries to assemble.

"Where did you get all of this?" she asked, looking at the golden fleece kept on a pedestal. "I've never seen so many treasures all in one place."

"Here and there," he said, taking some small pride that a princess would find his belongings so impressive. "I can't always trade for daughters, after all."

"I suppose not," she said thoughtfully. "You'd be overrun with them sooner or later."

He giggled at the image she'd conjured of the girls tripping over each other trying to dust. He couldn't even remember all their names or faces anymore, there had been one in residence almost the entire time he'd been the Dark One. He was just so tired of new people.

"Was there a question?" he asked her at last.

"I wanted to know what my duties would be," she said. "I mean, if I'm to be a maid, anyway."

"You can start by getting tea," he said, gesturing towards the tea set sitting on the table. "Do you know how to do that?"

"I think I can manage," she said, fiddling with the pot and the tea leaves. "What else will I be expected to know?

"I'm sure you know what maids do," he replied. "You've certainly been around them. Just… clean things."

"And the child?" she asked him.

"There's no need to clean him," he replied, and her giggle drew his attention towards her. That was entirely too pleasant a sound and he suddenly had to make it stop. "He's the one child you won't need to clean and skin for the table."

She dropped the cup she'd been holding, and quickly dropped to the floor to collect it.

"That was a quip," he replied. "Not serious."

Her face broke into a relieved smile that quickly fell as she looked down at the cup in her hands.

"It's chipped," she said meekly, holding the cup towards him and revealing the large portion of the lip that was missing. "You can hardly see it."

He almost laughed at her bald faced lie. Calling it a _chip_ was bordering on absurd, and it was exceptionally visible. But something about her expression and the way she'd smiled and laughed at his jokes made him want to reassure her.

"It's just a cup," he replied, turning back to his work. "And the child is my son."

"Shouldn't he have a nursemaid?" she asked as she prepared another cup of tea.

Apparently Bae hadn't spoken to her, then, but that didn't mean he wanted her opinions on how his son should be cared for.

"He doesn't need one," Rumplestiltskin snapped. "He can take care of himself."

She set the cup down on the little table next to the stool and didn't say anything after that. Soon enough he heard the swishing of her skirts as she left the room. That probably could have gone a lot better.

Baelfire was so tired. It was weird going back to childhood from adulthood. His knees and ankles suddenly felt so much better, and he'd always forget that he was too short to reach things. Case in point, he was currently standing on a chair and straining to reach a bowl of berries from the pantry.

"Oh goodness! Let me get that," he heard, and he turned to see the new maid coming behind him. "You could fall."

He watched as she took the bowl down from the shelf and took it over to a lower table before setting it down. He climbed off the chair, dragged it over and hopped up onto it so he could finally get something to eat. The girl was going through cabinets as though she was looking for something, and he realized he hadn't thanked her yet.

"Thank you," he said belatedly and she turned and gave him a smile.

"You're very welcome," she replied, going back to her search. "Do you often feed yourself?"

"Papa doesn't really need to eat much," he said with a shrug. "And I do when I'm this little."

She stopped again and turned to face him quickly. Oops.

"How old are you?" she asked him.

"Physically about five I guess," he replied. "But I don't really remember exactly how many years old I am."

Her jaw dropped and she seemed on the verge of saying something, but finally she just nodded and went back to looking through the cabinets. He watched her idly as he ate his breakfast. She was pretty and sort of reminded him of his mother in a weird way – not necessarily in personality, but certainly in looks. She was very much his father's type, so perhaps this one would work out. Or maybe his father would drive her away like he had all the others.

"I'm Baelfire," he said into the silence. "What's your name?"

"Belle," she replied. "Lady Belle of the Marchlands, if you want to be precise. But Belle is fine."

"Oh," he said, because what else did one say to that? It had been awhile since they'd had a proper lady here. The last one was the princess who had wanted to raise an army against her step-mother to take back her kingdom. Bae still wasn't sure what she'd gotten out of that deal, but she had been sent off after only a couple weeks after his father caught her talking to the birds in the tower.

"So what are you here for?" he asked her.

"Ogres were attacking," she said, opening yet another cabinet. "My people were being killed, and it was an easy choice. Do you know where I can find a bucket?"

"There's one in the pantry," he replied, pointing to the right door. "Why do you need it?"

"The floors are filthy upstairs," she said. "Somebody should clean them."

"You know you don't have to, right?" he said. "He likes to act scary, but he won't actually do anything to you if you don't clean things."

"I don't have much else to do," she said with a shrug. "Anyway, I should do _something_. He did save my people, and I gave him my word that I'd be his maid."

Bae was on the verge of replying when suddenly a crash echoed through the castle. Belle took off towards the great hall and Bae followed not far behind on instinct, nearly crashing into her when she stopped suddenly in the doorway. He peaked out behind her skirts to see what had startled her and saw a man with a bow and arrow pointed at his smiling father.

The noise of the pair of them approaching had drawn the stranger's attention, and he quickly turned so his arrow was pointed directly their way. Bae felt Belle shove him behind her, forcing him to pull her dress back toward her side so he could still see what was going on. His father's eyes went wide for a second and then he had teleported in front of the pair of them.

"This bow is enchanted, Dark One," the stranger said. "It always hits its target."

"Then this should be fairly easy for you," his father replied in a shrill sort of voice.

The stranger took his shot, and Bae heard the _woosh_ of the arrow as it soared through the air and slammed into his father's chest. Belle gasped, but Bae wasn't worried for his father. There was only one thing that could kill the dark one, and this hapless thief's arrow wouldn't do it.

The mood in the castle had taken a turn since the arrival of the thief. Rumplestiltskin and Baelfire had gotten into an argument over his punishment, retreating to opposite corners. The Dark One was sitting at his wheel spinning angrily, and his son had retreated off to someplace else. Belle, for her part, had decided to continue cleaning the floors. She didn't know what to say, everything about this was so strange. The thief had been locked in a dungeon, and Belle wasn't sure what was going to happen to him.

She was sweeping the floor and watching the sorcerer out of the corner of her eye as he spun the wheel faster and faster. It had been an awful argument between father and son, with the little boy insisting they let the thief go and his father saying an example needed to be made.

"This is silly," she said at last, dropping her broom with a clatter. "Just let the man go. He didn't actually _steal_ anything."

He reached out and grabbed the wheel, stopping it suddenly. She should be intimidated, but she wasn't. She'd seen this man bested in an argument by his child, and she had no fear of him.

"He tried!" he replied sharply, turning to face her.

"All this because he tried to steal a wand?" she asked. Really, what difference could one little wand make? He must have dozens.

"No," he replied testily, standing and facing her. "Because he tried to steal from _me._ I'm the Dark One, dearie, everyone knows what happens when you cross me."

"They have to scrub the floors?" she shot back.

"Careful," he replied darkly, stalking towards her and looming a little comically over her – she was used to much taller men trying to intimidate her. "You're bound here until _I_ release you, dearie. Not a moment less."

She narrowed her eyes and tried to stare him down as well as she could wearing a dirty ball gown and holding a broom. She was on the verge of stepping away and mumbling an apology when he finally turned away from her in a huff and thankfully turned and stormed out of the room. This was ridiculous. It was a _wand_ , for goodness sake. It wasn't worth all this.

Belle propped her broom against the table and walked off in the direction of the dungeons. Baelfire was already there, sitting propped against a door with his arms wrapped around his knees.

"Is the thief in there?" she asked the boy, receiving a nod in response. "Is there a key for the door?"

"On the wall," the boy replied, pointing to a hook hanging high over his head.

"Oh for goodness sake," she said, getting on tiptoes and pulling the key down off the wall.

"You're going to let him out?" Baelfire asked, standing up so she could go to the door. "Did Papa say that you could?"

"I am," she said. "And I don't care what he says."

The boy was watching her excitedly as she fit the key into the lock and swung the door open. The thief was laying on the cot, but he leapt to his feet at the sound of the door.

"He sent a woman and a boy?" the stranger asked with confusion evident in his voice. "I expected worse, I must say."

"He didn't send either of us," Belle replied. "We're letting you go."

"I… you're… I'm sorry?" he said, looking back and forth between herself and Baelfire. "You're letting me go?"

"You should hurry," she said. "I don't know how long before he comes looking for us."

"Of course," he said quickly, brushing past her into the corridor. "You two must come with me."

"No," she said, glancing to Baelfire. "I mean, I can't. I made a deal. I can't speak for Baelfire."

"I won't leave him," Baelfire replied. "He's my father."

The thief looked back and forth between them before nodding.

"You both have my thanks," he said. "I'll never forget this."

He clapped Baelfire on the shoulder and gave Belle a little bow before he fled from the dungeon.

"Papa is going to be angry," Baelfire said, looking up at her. "Very angry."

"I don't care," she said. "Let him be angry. I'm not afraid of him."

" _Where is he?_ " Rumplestiltskin yelled, using just a little bit of magic to make his voice reverberate through the castle. They had let his thief go, and that could not stand.

It took a little bit of searching to find them in the kitchen. The maid was apparently attempting to bake and Bae was poking at what was most likely supposed to be a muffin. They looked at each other before looking at him in unison. It had definitely been both of them to do it and this could not stand.

"Where is my thief?" he asked them as patiently as possible, though this was definitely getting on his last nerve.

"We let him go," the maid said as calmly as if she were telling him that she had burned those muffins.

"You did _what?_ " he snarled, she was far too comfortable here for her second day.

"We let him go," she said slowly as though he were an easily confused child. "He's gone."

"And who precisely told you that you could do that?" he asked her, stepping closer to hopefully use his superior height to intimidate her since apparently his magic wasn't working.

"I did," Bae said at the same time the girl said _nobody_. "You know you were overreacting."

Rumplestiltskin was livid, but there was no way to argue with his son. They were already having enough troubles without adding this to it.

"And you listened to him?" he said to the maid. "Need I remind you who your deal was with?"

"I didn't listen to either one of you," she shot back. "I would have let him go with or without help. And I kept my end of the deal, I'm still here aren't I?"

"That is beside the point!" Rumplestiltskin yelled. "You're here to be a maid and that implies some level of obedience!"

"Well, then," she said idly as she peeked into the oven. "I suppose you should have mentioned that when you made the deal for me, shouldn't you have?"

The girl spun to face him and he couldn't move for a split second. Her blue eyes were alight with anger and her chin was tilted defiantly and he suddenly realized he had traded for a truly beautiful girl. All words left him and he stood there staring at her like an idiot. This was bad.

With a snap of his fingers she was gone in a cloud of smoke with only the pull off her screaming his name in annoyance to tell him how angry she was with his response to her very valid point. He would have to make sure the next maid knew the rules ahead of time to prevent this particular loophole being used against him again.

Bae was looking at him disapprovingly and Rumpelstiltskin had the uniquely unpleasant experience of being judged by a small child.

"You know she was right, Papa," the boy said as he hopped off his chair. "And you can't solve all your problems by poofing them away."

"He was stealing magic, Bae," Rumplestiltskin reminded his son. "Who knows what he meant to do with it?"

"He was a good man," Bae shot back. "Which you would have known if you had spent five minutes talking to him instead of locking him in the dungeon!"

"Good men don't steal magic!" Rumplestiltskin roared, slamming his hand on the table.

"You did!" Bae replied, his child's voice cracking as he shouted. "You were a good man, and you stole magic to save me."

Rumplestiltskin didn't know what to say, and he didn't think magically removing his son would solve this problem the way sending the maid to her room had solved the last one.

"That's not… I mean…" he stuttered, trying to figure out some combination of words that would let him save face in all this. "That's not the point!"

Baelfire didn't even do him the courtesy of pretending to believe him, instead rolling his eyes like a teenager and flouncing out of the kitchen leaving him standing there to sulk as whatever the maid had been baking burned. The next time a baker needed to deal away his daughter for something, Rumplestiltskin made a mental note to take him up on the offer.

Things were off to a rocky start, but Bae felt strangely calm about his father's reaction to the maid for one reason: he hadn't sent her away. Usually, when the girls stopped being frightened of the mystique of _the Dark One_ and started getting on his nerves his father would send them away almost instantly. It had been a full day since the thief had broken into the castle, and Belle was still in residence. Her cooking hadn't improved a bit (though at least she read the directions, unlike Princess Snow White), but she was still there dusting and sweeping and keeping him company while his father licked his wounds in the workroom.

The more he got to know her, the more Bae started to wonder if Belle hadn't been exactly the right choice for his father. Not that he'd be able to tell either one of them that. His papa was still annoyed at being second guessed and Belle was refusing to acknowledge him until he apologized for locking her in her room for the better part of an afternoon. Neither one of them was going to make the first move before Bae was going through puberty again, so it fell to him to make things right.

Early on in the curse, Bae had knocked before entering this room but over the last century or so he'd begun simply walking into any room he wanted to be in and this was no exception. There were wizards with less knowledge of magic than Bae now possessed. Bae climbed up onto the table next to where his father was working, careful to avoid the simple good luck potion on the table.

"Belle likes books," he said by way of greeting, the slight tremor in his father's hand the only sign he'd heard. "You should show her the library."

"Why should I do that?" his father replied defensively, looking intensely at the potion as though he couldn't do it with his eyes closed.

"Because you need to apologize," Bae said.

"Apologize?" his father snorted derisively. "Why should I apologize when she's the one who set my thief free?"

"If you don't apologize she's never going to fall in love with you," Bae replied. "And she's not the one with a curse to break."

"It's been three hundred years, Bae," his father said. "I think it's time to accept that this is a fool's errand."

"It doesn't work because you don't try," Bae said. "You have to at least _try_."

"It's a lost cause," his father said almost sadly. "We've been through this hundreds of times before."

"I'm not going to be around forever, Papa," Bae reminded him, standing up and walking to the door. "And I don't want you to be like this forever."

His father didn't say anything as Bae left, and Bae could only hope the message had landed.

"Follow me, dearie," the Dark One said, drawing Belle's attention from the glass case she'd been cleaning. He didn't even slow down, stalking through the great hall and towards the stairs as though he were on a mission.

"Where are we going?" she asked, hurrying to catch up with him.

He didn't reply, just walked faster up the steps as she followed. Finally, they came to a heavy wooden door which he swung open, revealing a library full of books. He strode into the center of the room and gestured around flippantly.

She followed him reverently, taking in the high shelves and countless tomes. She'd never seen so many books in all her life.

"What is all this?" she asked, not taking her eyes off the treasure trove before her.

"Temper your excitement," he said. "This is merely another room for you to clean."

"It's beautiful," she said. "There's more books in here than I could read in a lifetime."

"Well, let's hope you clean faster than you read," he said with something that was almost a smile.

He turned to leave her there, and she hadn't even properly thanked him.

"Rumplestiltskin," she called after him, causing him to stop and face her. "Thank you."

"I'd better not see a single speck of dust gathering on any of these books," he replied, and she couldn't help but giggle a little at his joke. "What are you laughing at?" he continued teasingly. "I'm serious."

She nodded as solemnly as possible, but she could feel the grin on her face threatening to burst forth and he saw it, too, if the little smile on his face was anything to go by. He nodded to her quickly and left her to decide which book she wanted to read first.

Belle was sure that she could be happy here, if only it wasn't supposed to be temporary.


	2. Chapter 2

"Papa!" Bae called, and Rumplestiltskin followed his son's voice into the library where Belle was perched on a ladder leaning against one of the many bookshelves while Bae stood at the bottom.

"What _are_ you two doing?" Rumplestiltskin asked, trying to determine what precisely they were up to.

"Belle wanted to catalog the books," Bae replied. "I'm holding the ladder."

Bae wasn't even touching the ladder, and even if he had been Rumplestiltskin didn't think he'd be physically capable of doing much to support it, but he didn't feel like starting another fight so he didn't contradict his son.

"Did you need help?" Rumplestiltskin asked, unsure of whether or not he wanted to actually assist or not. The last few weeks he and Belle seemed to have reached some sort of truce, though he didn't want to push his luck on it. Besides, it was going to be time to let her leave soon. He never kept maids more than a month or so and she'd already been with them close to three weeks.

"I'm hungry," Bae replied. "Can you help her while I get a snack?"

Rumplestiltskin was about to offer to just get them food, but before he could get the first word out of his mouth Bae was already dashing past him into the hall with a _thanks Papa!_ following the child to the stairs.

"He's growing," Belle said from her spot at the top of the ladder. "Mark my words, he'll be a couple inches taller in a month."

"He will," Rumplestiltskin said. "He grows the same way each time."

She looked at him strangely but as soon as her eyes met his she quickly went back to looking at the books. He wasn't sure what to even talk to her about, if anything. There was nothing comfortable or normal about this situation at all. He felt awkward and like he should apologize for _something_ but he couldn't quite put his finger on why. The whole thing was just strange, and he didn't like it.

"What help did you need?" he asked at last, moving towards the base of the ladder and trying to keep his eyes above her waist while also carefully avoiding looking up her skirt.

"Oh, you don't need to stay," she said with a quick glance towards him. "He was mostly keeping me company, but you don't need to."

"It's…" he struggled to find an answer for her. He had no reason to stay, but he couldn't find a compelling enough one to leave. "I wouldn't want to disappoint Bae," he said at last. "And there's nothing more urgent for me to do."

She smiled down at him again before going back to her books. His skin felt too tight after, and his fingers wouldn't stop moving of their own accord.

"What exactly _are_ you doing?" he asked, moving to the base of the ladder.

"I just want to know what's here," she replied, stretching to reach for a book. "It's hard choose what to read when I'm not sure what my choices are."

He smiled in spite of himself at the little teasing note to her voice. She was a peculiar girl, but it was becoming difficult not to like her. It was a troubling development, all things considered, but at least she wouldn't be here too much longer – they never stayed too long.

Rumplestiltskin had let himself become distracted, but Belle let out a little gasp and dragged him back to reality just in time to see her overbalance on the ladder and tip off of it. On instinct, he stepped forward and reached his arms out just in time to snatch her out of air before she could hit the floor. His mind was having a hard time catching up with what his body had just done, and it took him an uncomfortably long time to register that she was still in his arms. She was staring at him with lips gently parted and her eyes wide with shock. He couldn't stop looking at her now that he'd started – how had he never noticed how beautiful she was? More than her beauty, though, he was frozen with the realization that the voices in his head were silent. It had been centuries of their near constant presence and he'd forgotten what it felt like to simply _be_. How had she done it?

"Thank you," she said after a few seconds, and suddenly he became conscious of the fact that he was still holding her. He dropped his arms to deposit her back on her feet and instantly felt the loss of her as the voices came rushing back all at once. It was a most unsettling experience, and she was still looking at him strangely.

"It's no matter," he replied, trying to adjust to the noise in his head and the sudden awareness of her. "Try to be more careful."

"I will," she said quickly. "Maybe I should just leave the ones at the top. There are so many I'd already sorted."

"It's your library," he blurted out. "Do as you please."

She just nodded and he could see the corners of her mouth start to tilt up just a little bit before he turned and escaped the library back to his wheel and something that made sense.

Belle was beginning to truly enjoy life in the Dark Castle. She hadn't expected to, but it was actually a pleasant respite from her real life. There was no father here to watch over her every move and no Gaston preening and strutting about. The thousand little things that absorbed her time and attention when she'd been home were all still at home, and here she could simply be herself.

Even Rumplestiltskin was beginning to grow on her in spite of what seemed to be his firm dedication to being aloof. In the evenings she would play games with Baelfire, usually chess or perhaps cards (it was still a bit odd to be bested by what looked like a little boy, but she was adjusting to that as well) and while they would play, Rumple would sit nearby and spin at his wheel.

One day, after she'd been at the castle a little over a month, Baelfire showed Belle a new game she'd never seen before. This one was played by matching little tiles and she had an awful time learning it, constantly making mistakes which just made Baelfire laugh at her ineptitude, and even his father had come over in curiosity over their laughter before going back to his spinning. Finally, Bae's eyes were drooping and he yawned and hopped off his chair.

"I'm too tired to play anymore," he said.

"Oh, but I was just getting the hang of it," she said, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice. She had always loved learning new things.

"Papa can play with you," Baelfire said pointedly. "He's the one who taught me."

Rumple looked like he might turn her down flat, but Belle wanted to keep playing.

"That's a wonderful idea," she said, turning to him. "Please, Rumple. Just one hand?"

The sorcerer looked back and forth between the two of them, looking for all the world like a man who had just had a sword pulled on him.

"Play with her, Papa," Baelfire begged, sounding very much like a little boy all of a sudden. "Please? Belle shouldn't have to go to sleep just because I'm tired."

Rumplestiltskin looked absolutely shocked, but he nodded silently and stood up.

"Of course," he said at last, joining Belle at the table with wide eyes. "Whose deal is it?"

"Yours," she said. "But we can start over if you like."

"No, that's fine," he said, looking down at the hand that his son had just abandoned.

"Thank you, Papa," Baelfire said, hugging his father for the first time Belle had seen since she'd been in residence. "Goodnight!"

Belle wished Baelfire a goodnight, but Rumplestiltskin was staring awkwardly into his tiles even as his son left the great hall. She watched her companion for a little while, sorting her tiles over and over again as she waited in vain for him to come back to her.

"Rumplestiltskin," she said at last, causing his eyes to snap up to her face. "You don't have to play with me, you know. I won't tell Bae."

"No no," he replied. "I'm sorry, I was just…"

He shook his head and tossed out a tile, drawing two more and making a face.

"Can I ask you a question?" she said, going through her own hand to try to choose the correct move.

"Perhaps," he said, flipping a tile between his fingers idly. "Perhaps you just want to learn the monster's weaknesses, hm?"

She flashed him a look, tossing out her tiles and claiming some new ones. If she'd had any inclination towards destroying him, she already knew his weakness – the man would do anything for his son.

"How did you come to be here?" she asked him as he shuffled his hand. "I mean, Baelfire had a mother once, didn't he?"

The tile he had been holding dropped into the rest of his pile with a loud clatter and quickly started trying to put his hand back together without meeting her eyes. She almost rescinded the question, but she decided not to mention it. He'd answer it if he felt like it and her bringing it up would just cause him to snap again.

They played the next few hands in silence, and she had almost forgotten she'd asked him anything at all when he finally spoke.

"She's gone," he said at last, still not looking directly at her. "Many years ago."

"Oh," she said, trying to think of what possible words of comfort she could offer. "I'm sorry."

"It was a long time ago," he said sharply. "Long before you were born."

She nodded, and they returned to their game in silence. It was somewhere between awkward and comfortable, as though there was something there just bubbling below the surface and keeping her on edge. It wasn't precisely unpleasant, just strange. He must have felt it, too, because he wasn't looking at her as he played his tiles so she kept her head down and focused on the game. Rumplestiltskin tossed out two more tiles and chose a few more, and Belle looked hard at what he'd cast out and her own tiles.

"I won," she blurted out, setting down her tiles in front of her so he could see the set that she'd made.

"You did," he said. "Congratulations."

"I've never won!" she said, hopping up and leaning over the table to hug him in her excitement. He seemed stunned when she pulled away, but she could hardly care. This had been an incredibly difficult game to learn, and she'd spent all night trying to get the hang of all of it.

She settled back into her chair and examined the tiles again. It was still hard to believe she'd managed to actually figure out how this game was played.

"Do you want to play again?" he said, swishing the tiles around the table.

"No," she said. "I've been playing all night."

He nodded and swept the tiles into a pile, preparing to return them to their box.

"Tell me a story," she said quickly and he froze, his eyes jumping to hers. "I mean, you have so many wonderful things," she continued. "Surely you must have some stories of them?"

"None worth telling," he demurred. "Most of them are desperate souls in desperate situations."

She was crestfallen as she looked around at the shelves full of beautiful things.

"You won't tell me anything?" she asked. "You've been so many places that I'll probably never see."

"Never?" he said. "You may be freed yet, dearie. No need to be so dramatic."

"When – if I get home I'll be married," she said, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice. "I doubt I'll be allowed to do much of anything. There will be heirs to sire, you know."

"Ah yes, your betrothed," he replied, leaning back a little. "Not the honeymooning type?"

"I wouldn't know," she sighed, but he didn't push her for more and she didn't didn't want to let Gaston interfere in this life, so they simply let the matter drop.

The Dark One wasn't really so bad once you got to know him. Belle wasn't quite sure what she'd expected, but she was pleasantly surprised by the man he had turned out to be – and he was a man, certainly. A strange looking one, perhaps, but a man like any other she'd known.

He was prone to teasing her, but it hadn't taken her too long to realize that he wasn't actually going to turn her into a toad or anything of the sort. It was nice to be teased, too. In her real life, very few people would have dared to ease the lord's daughter, and Gaston certainly would never have dreamt of doing so. They weren't in love, and lacked even the easy sort of camaraderie that she had seen in other arranged marriages where _both_ parties had been pushed into it. Suffice to say, she was not looking forward to being sent back.

It had occurred to her to ask to stay, but she didn't have the courage for it. There was obviously _some_ reason that he only kept the others for a few weeks or months at a time, and she didn't think he'd make an exception for her even if she wanted him to. Baelfire seemed to be sick of her, too. He'd been spending less and less time with her the longer she was there and more time by himself. He'd even begged for a picnic with Belle and his father only to vanish up a tree once they got to the edge of the forest. It was all very strange, but she was still dreading the loss of it.

It was tea time, and Bae had absconded to his room with a teacup and a plate of cakes and a promise to return the dishes later which left Belle alone with Rumple. They weren't really talking, but they had developed such a good rapport over the last nine months that she honestly just enjoyed his company regardless of what they said. He was acting slightly more skittish than usual as she joined him sitting on the top of the table next to the tea service (it was just so much fun to sit on the table with him) as they sipped from their cups (his being the chipped one as always). It felt quiet and companionable and just completely pleasant.

"Why did you want me here?" she asked from behind her tea cup. It had been weighing on her mind since she'd arrived, and now was as good a time as any to ask.

"The place was filthy," he replied.

"Still, you must have had more maids than I can count and then you just let them go. There has to be _some_ reason for it."

"I'm very picky about how the beds are made."

She shot him a look, and he smirked cheekily. He was impossible sometimes, but she liked that sometimes.

"So I've had a couple of months to look around," she said. "And upstairs there's clothing for a man larger than you. I was wondering who it belonged to."

He tensed next to her and she watched him out of the corner of her eyes until he finally replied.

"It's Bae's," he said softly. "He grows, and then I make him younger."

"You're both looking for something, aren't you?"

"You're right," he said, looking down sadly before turning back to her. "I'm looking for someone who can cook _and_ keep the floors clean. It's been a difficult few centuries."

The last bit was said with a high pitched giggle, and she couldn't keep from rolling her eyes at how desperate he was not to talk about it.

"Fine, don't tell me. I'll just have to ask your son."

Whatever he was about to say was interrupted by a knock on the door, and he quickly leapt from the table and strode through the doors to the entryway, leaving Belle alone. She wasn't sure if she should try to push him for more information or not. She knew it was really none of her business, but she did love mysteries. Bae might be willing to tell her if she could find him but she wanted to know Rumplestiltskin and she wanted him to be the one to tell her if she couldn't figure it out for herself.

She was still pondering this dilemma when he returned, bearing a single red rose.

"Who was that?" she asked him.

"Just an old woman selling flowers," he replied, presenting the rose to her with a courtly bow and a flourish. "If you'll have it," he continued. He looked so pleased with himself she couldn't help smiling as she took the flower.

"So what of you, Belle?" he asked as she fetched a vase. "None of the maids come here unless they want to be away from something else and there were any number of maidens your father could have sent beside the princess, yet here you are."

"It was my responsibility – if _I_ didn't save my village, who would?" she asked as she returned to her earlier seat on the table. "Besides, there aren't a lot of opportunities for women in this land to show what they can do. To see the world, to be heroes. So, when the ogres came and then you arrived that was my chance. I always wanted to be brave, and I figured do the brave thing and bravery would follow."

"And is it everything you hoped?"

"So far," she replied. "I do want to see the world someday, but I may be able to travel before they realize I'm gone."

"Ad what about your betrothed?"

"It was an arranged marriage," she said. "Honestly, I never really cared much for Gaston. You know, to me love is a mystery to be uncovered. I could never truly give my heart to someone as superficial as he."

He was watching her now with a strange expression on his face, and it made her feel warm and breathless all at the same time as she held his gaze. She'd never felt like his before in her life, and it was terrifying and thrilling in equal measure.

"Your debt here is paid," he said at last and the breathless feeling felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. "You can leave in the morning and go wherever you wish."

He sprang from his seat and was on the other side of the door before she could even figure out how to respond to him. She felt like a pet bird who had been passed from owner to owner, and for the first time in her life the door to her cage had been left open but she wasn't even sure if she knew how to fly. It was a silly thought, not that a noblewoman's life was so very different than a cage, but she was a woman with intelligence and dreams, not a bird staring at a sky it had never known. The world was open to her at last, and she would find a place in it.

Bae was in his room when he heard a knock and Belle came in immediately after. It had been awhile since he'd last really spent much time with her – this was the closest he thought his father had been to finding anyone who could break the curse in the last few centuries. He was already trying to make plans for what he would do first once they were free of this.

"Hi Belle," he said. "I was going to bring the plates down soon."

"Don't worry about that," she said, joining him sitting on the bed. "We need to talk about something."

"Sure, what's up?"

"I'm leaving tomorrow."

He was completely stunned. This had been the very last thing he would have expected to happen. The two of them had been giggling and flirting and Bae had been so sure that this would end with a kiss and his own freedom. What had happened?

"Why?" he asked at last. "Don't go!"

"Your father told me that my term is up," she said. "He told me to leave."

Bae sighed heavily, looking down to his feet. His father had given up again, even after promising that he'd really try this time.

"You can't go yet," he said. "Please, Belle. Stay a little longer."

"I can't, he doesn't want me here anymore."

"He does!" Bae blurted out. "He needs you to kiss him."

She blanched, and he bit his tongue to keep himself from saying anything else. What was the point of keeping this secret anymore, anyway?

"It's true love," Bae said. "You have to kiss him. It's true love."

"That's ridiculous," she said as she jumped to her feet and backed towards the door. "And it doesn't matter, anyway."

"It _does_ matter. The Blue Fairy said true love's kiss could break his curse – please, Belle. Don't go!"

"It's not that simple…"

"Yes it is!"

"No, it isn't. Even if I loved him, it doesn't mean he loves me. And I can't change that."

She fled the room before Bae could even protest, and while he knew he should find her and argue his case he knew it wouldn't help. His father was the one who had caused this, and he was the only one who could fix it.

Bae found his father right where he had expected in the tower room with his spinning wheel.

"You're a coward," Bae hissed as soon as he stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him. His father's shoulders slumped but he barely paused in his spinning.

"You told her to go," Bae continued. "You knew you had feelings for her and you told her to leave!"

"She's stayed longer than any of the others," his father said at last. "If it was going to happen it would have by now."

"Maybe it would have if you had _tried_ , why didn't you just tell her?"

"Tell her what, Bae?" he said, stopping the wheel and spinning around on his stool. "Tell her she has the chance to spend the rest of her life locked in a castle with a cripple? A coward? Lucky her!"

"So you _do_ love her," Bae replied. He'd suspected, but he hadn't known and this was half of the challenge. His father loved her, he was fairly certain that she loved him (or at least _could_ love him), so now he just had to force the two of them to come together.

"I didn't say that."

"Yes you did!" Gods, it was like arguing with a child sometimes. "You only get a few chances at true love in a single lifetime, why are you wasting this chance?"

"It's not going to work, Bae! It was never going to work. It's always been a fool's errand."

"Fine! But I'd rather be a fool than a coward!"

Bae was too angry to speak. If his father thought it was so foolish to try then maybe it was time for Bae to have a life of his own away from this castle. His father had broken their deal, and Bae was free.

Bae was at the door waiting for Belle when the sun first peaked over the mountains at dawn. He'd packed his own bag to leave, and provisioned himself with as much spun gold as he thought he could carry. He'd go with her and find himself a new life away from all of this.

"What are you doing?" Belle asked as soon as she saw him. She had her own bag and was dressed for travelling with a long cloak and boots on under her dress.

"I'm coming with you," Bae said simply.

"Bae…"

"You won't kiss him and he won't even _try_ to get better, and I'm not staying anymore. He broke our deal."

"So you're going to leave without even saying goodbye?"

"So are you."

"That's different. He asked me to leave. Are you really sure you want to do this?"

"I can't keep staying here," he said. "He's never going to change and I'm sick of waiting."

"Then at least go tell him. He deserves at least that much."

She looked so sad, but he nodded and left his pack in the hall and ascended the stairs. His father was still right where he'd left him, though with miles more gold in his basket.

"Papa," Bae said. "I'm leaving. For good."

The wheel stopped and Rumplestiltskin turned around quickly.

"Where will you go?"

"I'm going with Belle."

His father stood and walked to the window and Bae could see his father's fingers twitching and flexing as he paced – he always had carried his tension in his hands.

"I'm sorry," Rumplestiltskin said at last. "I truly am."

"It doesn't matter. You won't change, and I can't live like this."

"I want to. I do – I know you don't believe me, but it's there. Every day I think that it will finally be the day I do everything right by you."

"But?"

"But it never is, is it? I've failed you. I'm a monster, Bae."

"You weren't always," Bae said. "You were a good man before, why can't you be that again?"

"It's been three hundred years. If it was possible it would have happened by now."

"So she's still downstairs. Just one kiss and if it doesn't work we can try again."

"It's not that simple," he father exclaimed, becoming agitated and taking up his pacing again. "In all that time, no one has ever, _ever_ loved me."

" _I_ love you," Bae shot back. "You just have to believe in it and it can work!"

"You're the only one, and it's no use trying to change that."

Bae looked at his father – _really_ looked at him – for the first time in ages and for a second he was sure the mask had slipped. It was easy to forget their lives before sometimes, but he always remembered feeling safe and loved. even when there had been soldiers on their doorstep to take him away, Bae hadn't ever felt like there was anything that could hurt him because his father was there. it hadn't been until his thirteenth birthday and the arrival of the Dark One into their lives that he had even begun to doubt his papa. Suddenly, another memory came to him unbidden, of the Pied Piper and his father commanding Bae not to leave.

"You're not going to make me stay this time?" Bae asked. "You did last time."

"No," his father said weakly. "You're not a child even if you look like one, and you won't be alone. I don't want you to be unhappy here, I only ever wanted you to have a better life."

He looked so broken, and Bae wasn't sure how to help him anymore. His father was probably never going to be the man he'd wanted him to be, but Bae still loved him so much.

"I love you, Papa," Bae said, going to his father and wrapping his arms around him until his father scooped him into his arms and held him tightly.

"I love you, too. So much. I'm so sorry, son. I _want_ to be the man you think I am."

"It's okay," Bae replied. "Just promise me that you'll try to be happy when I'm gone?"

His father didn't answer, but Bae hadn't really expected him to. So, he turned his head to the side and kissed his father's cheek before hugging him again. He wasn't sure when they would meet again, and he wanted to part as friends.

Rumplestiltskin felt woozy, and he was sure it was probably his broken heart about to kill him but this would be the last time that he held his son like this and he would keep himself together at least until it was over. He'd already ruined Bae's life so far, he wouldn't keep doing so or drag Belle into it.

Suddenly, he couldn't stand anymore and he was forced to release his son before they both collapsed. Bae took one look at him and his eyes went wide with fear. Gods, he must look worse than he felt. Rumplestiltskin began to collapse onto the floor in what felt like slow motion, and then Bae ran out of the room. He raised his hand to try to call his son back but his fingers looked so strange.

Rumple heard Bae screaming for Belle and then they were both in the doorway. Belle looked even more shocked than Bae had, and Rumplestiltskin was sure he must really be dying except his head was clearing now.

"Oh my goodness," Belle exclaimed, and she was kneeling on the floor next to Rumplestiltskin before he could even register how happy he was to see her. "What happened?" she asked Bae.

"I just...I kissed his cheek and then when I turned around…" Bae replied. He didn't look afraid anymore, Rumplestiltskin realized – Bae looked excited.

"What's going on?" Rumplestiltskin asked, looking between them and his hand which didn't look like it was _his_ anymore..

Belle looked at him with wide eyes and then searched the room quickly before grabbing a hand mirror off the work table and handing it to him, and Rumplestiltskin saw his face as it had been for the first time in three hundred years. The curse had broken.

"What happened?" he asked, conscious for the first time of the silence in his head that he had attributed to whatever had caused the voices to be silent when he had caught her after she fell. "Bae, what did you do?"

"I didn't know!" Bae exclaimed, joining the two of them on the floor. "Honest, I had no idea it would work. It didn't work before, I just thought – I guess I just forgave you."

Bae was looking so confused that Rumplestiltskin couldn't even bear it, and he pulled his son into another hug.

"You broke the curse," Rumplestiltskin said incredulously. "All that time it was so simple."

"I'm so happy for you both," Belle said and he was suddenly aware she'd been stroking his hair the last few minutes. "You look so different!"

Everyone fell quiet after that and Belle seemed to realize what her hands had been doing and she pulled them away and settled them back into her lap. So, there was still one piece of unfinished business to be dealt with.

"Bae," Rumplestiltskin said to his son. "Can you get my old walking stick?"

Bae nodded and hopped up, running down the stairs to fetch it. Belle shifted away slightly and Rumplestiltskin was surprised at how much he missed her just in those extra few inches.

"Had you decided where you'd go to first?" he asked her at last.

"Not yet, no. I thought I might just see where the road takes me. At least at first. Anyway, I don't think Bae will be coming with me now so there's no pressure to be interesting."

"I'd been thinking," he began, trying to find the words he wanted to give her. "With my leg the way it is and everything we might need a maid here just a little bit longer. Would you like to stay?"

"No," she replied and he felt his heart begin to splinter in his chest. "I won't stay. Not as a maid, anyway. Ask me what you really want."

He should have known that would be her response, but it was still nerve wracking to turn to face her as a man for the first time. He took her hand in his and she gave his fingers a gentle squeeze that reassured him just a little bit, just enough to get him through.

"Belle, will you stay here? With me – well, with us?"

It felt like she'd never answer, but he was sure it wasn't even a second before her face split into a radiant smile.

"Of course I will," she said. "I thought you'd never ask. I love being here."

There was a slight beat between the words _love_ and _being here_ that had his heart in his throat. Would it have worked with Belle, he wondered? Would she have been able to break the curse? There was really no way to ever know that now, but there were so many other things he wanted now.

"Bae was right, you know," he said, picking at the lace edge of his sleeve just to have _something_ to do with his hands. "Whatever he said to you about me, he was right."

"I know," she said, putting her hand on his to stop him from ruining his shirt. "And I love you, too."

What could he even say to that? Words weren't important, though. Not when she was so close that he could thread his fingers through her hair and pull her down for a kiss unlike any he'd ever felt before in his life. It was like little bits of electricity running through him, like magic at his fingertips. She loved him, and she would stay. He'd never want for anything else again as long as he lived.


End file.
